Rubber heel with circular adjustable rear section



Jan. 12, 1965 B. GILOWITZ 3,164,912

RUBBER HEEL. WITH CIRCULAR ADJUSTABLE REAR SECTION Filed March 10, 1964Fig./ Fig. 2

INVENTOR. Ben 0mm GWoM/z ATTORNEY 1 Another object is to provide aRUBBER HEEL My invention relates to cushion or so-called rubber heelsfor shoes and particularlyto those of the type in which the rubber heelcomprises a main or front section formed at its rear with a recess toreceive a circular rear section that can be rotatively shifted or.adjusted United States Patent after it wears at one point in order thata fresh portion of the section may be disposed at the point of greatestwear. t

Rubber heels of the above indicated type are disclosed in such patentsas my Patent No; 2,669,037 February 16, 1954, and also in my pendingapplication Serial No. 289,820, filed June 24, 19.63, butI believe allof such rubber heels have, been made of. soft rubber and cured in amold. Making the sections of the rubber heel in that manner requireselaborate equipment. andis both time consuming and expensive.Furthermore in the production, by that; method, ofjrubber heels withshiftable circular rear sections, theformat-ionof a semi-circular recessat the rear of the body or'front sectionof the heel leaves at the sidesofthatsection two rearwardly tapered wings which have a tendency tospring away or be pulled away fromthe circularsection when a shoe;having;such a heel is-being worn. The semi-circular reces's is formedinv the bottom face; of the "front section, and.;becau se of thatconstruction,.-it has been necessarytoimake heels with circular .rearsections thicker than the} standard thickness ,of 78" 'of theusuabrubber heels. In myabove" 3,164,912 Patented Jan. 12, 1965 iceview, the invention resides in .the novel combinations and arrangementsof pants and the novel features of construction hereinafter describedand claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show thepresent preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings: v

FIG. 1 is a side elevational View ofthe a portion of a shoe showing theimproved heel applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan View; I

FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail sectional views talgen respectively onthe lines 33 and 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the circular rear sec tion; and s s FIG.6 is a similar view of the front or body section.

Referring more in detail tothe drawings the letter S represents a shoeor boot with a leather heel portion H on which my improved rubber heel10 is suitably fastened.

The heel 10 comprises a front or body section 11 and a circular rearsection 12. Both of these sections are of such construction that they-may be made by simply stamping them fron 1 a flat sheet of material bymeans of suitably shaped metal dies. The material will, of cours-e,'be arubber or rubber-like composition which will have the desired resilienceand uniform thickness of A3",more or less. The front sectionll will havethe outline of the leather heel H to which it is-applied, and

in its rear portion is formed a substantially semi-circular mentionedapplication I have, disclosed a heel of standard d thickness WithacircuI-anrear section, andto prevent the two tapered side portions orwings for beingpulled or torn away from the circular rear. section, Ihave shown them connected'by a transverse strap. However that structurerequires the molding. and curing of the two sections; and hence the costof producing the;:;heel is much greater than it would be if the twosections' are made by die-'stampingthem from-suitable sheet material.

My invention contemplates a rubber heel of standard thicknesswith acircular rear section, in which both sections may be formed bydie-stamping them from suitable cushioning or rubber-like sheetmaterial, and inwhich the two sections whenassembled will be sointerlocked that the wing portions of the front section willbe heldagainst being; pulled away from the rear section.

One object of the invention is to provide a rubber heel of the abovestated character which may be produced at a much lower cost than priorheels with circular rear sections. 7

rubber heel of this character in which the interlock between thesections comprises two opposed and unconnected tenon-like arms thatproject inwardly from the tapered side portions. or wings of the frontsection and have enlarged ends shaped to snugly fit similarly shapednotched formed at diametopening or notch13 and two opposed inwardlyextending arms'14. The formation of the notch 13 leaves the frontsection 11, with tapered rearwardly extending side portions'or wings 15from the end of which the arms 14 projects Ldiametrically;of thesemi-circular notch or so that approximately. one halfof it will snuglyfit the opening 13. Formed in the edge. of the s'ection"12 atdiametrically opposite points are cutv out portions or notches" 16 ofthe same size and shape as the arms 14 so that when thefitwo' sectionsareassembled as shown in FIG. 2,1thearms-willbesnug1y' fit inxthenotches.

For the purpose of'so interlocking theltwo sections that the wingsortapered 'side portions 15 cannot move outwardly or be pulled away fromthe rear section, the arms 14 at their free end portions are enlarged,that is,

' they arelaterally wider than-at their juncture with the arms 14.Preferably, arid as illustrated in the drawing,

rically opposite points in fthe edge of the circular rear.

. section, so that the latter serves to elfectively'p revent the wingsfrom moving outwardly. j With the above and other objects-and advantagesin they are wedge-shaped in outline to form trapezoidal tenons that havetheir widest portions 1"! at the ends of the arms. "Thus, when the armsare seated in the similarly shaped notches 16, the arms cannot be pulledwith the associated wing 15. The fiat free ends of the opposed arms areparallel and the greatest diameter or length of the arms extendsdiametrically of the semi- ,circular opening 13.

The improved "rubber heel may be fastened to the leather heel in anydesiredmanner. The front section 11 may have a suitable number of nailholes 18 to receive the usual fastening nails 19, and if desired similarnail holes may be formed in the arms or tenons 14. The removable rearsection 12 is preferably fastened by a screw 21 passed through anopening 22 formed in the center of the section and threaded into theleather heel H, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. If desired, two nail holes 23may be formed in the section 12 at diametrically opposite points in thea plane 90 from the diametrical plane of the notches 16, to receivenails 24. The several screw and nail holes may be punched or other--wise formed so that the head of the fasteners will be countersunk.

It will be understood that when the rear portion of the bottom face ofthe section 12 is worn down, the screw 21 is removed and the nails 24pried out so that the section 12 may be removed, then rotated 180 andreplaced and refastened. The same procedure may be carried out with therear section 12 in an inverted position, and hence the rear section willhave a long useful life.

It will be seen that since the two sections may be formed from arelatively hard'but somewhat resilient rubber or rubber-like sheetmaterial already cured, by means of suitable dies in a punch press, theimproved rubber heel may be produced at a relatively small cost; andthat the structure of the sections is such that the circular rearsection will effectively hold the tapered side or wing portions againstany lateral outward movement. The interlocking connection between thetwo sections 11 and 12 is such that when they are assembled they will beeffectively held together and may be not only sold in that condition butalso applied to the leather heel while so assembled. While the structureof the heel is such that it may also be produced by curing in a mold,the cost of manufacture is much less than when the parts are stamped outof suitable sheet material.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made forcarrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferences havebeen disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of makingvariations within the scope of the invention as claimed. a

I claim: I

1. A rubber heel of the type having a front bodyv section and arotatively shiftable circular rear section, and

in which both sections are made from cushioning sheet (b) two armsextending inwardly from the rear end portions of said wings and disposedrelation diametrically of said opening,

(B) a circular rear section having a radius corresponding to that ofsaid semi-circular opening and also having in its edge diametericallyopposite notches shaped to snugly receive said arms when half of saidrear section is sealed in said opening,

(0) the free end portions of said arms remote from their connection withsaid wings being laterally enlarged to provide an interlockingconnection between the two sections that will prevent said arms frombeing pulled endwise out of said notches.

2. The rubber heel of claim 1 in which said arms are dovetail-shapedtenons with their widest portions at the free extremities of said arms.

3. A rubber heel of the type having a front body section and a rotatingshiftable circular rear section, and in which both sections are madefrom cushioning sheet material of uniform thickness, and said heelcomprising in combination (A) a front section having (a) at its rear asubstantially semi-circular opening extending entirely through thesection and forming two opposed rearwardly tapered side wings,

(12) two arms of generally quadrangular outline extending inwardlytoward each other from the opposed rear end portions of said wings, withthe longitudinal axes of said arms disposed diametrically of saidopening,

(0) said arms having flat and parallel free ends and each of said armshaving flat sides that converge toward each other from its flat endtoward the juncture of the arm with its associated wing, and

(B) a circular rear section having a radius corresponding to that ofsaid semi-circular opening and also having in its edge diametricallyopposite notches'of the same shape as said arms and of a size to snuglyreceive said arms when half of said rear section is seated=insaidopening, whereby when the two sections are assembled, the'interlocking'engagement of said arms with said notches will preventsaid arms from being pulled endwise out of said notches and thus preventthe wings from moving outwardly away from each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS789,089 Frank --T--- May 2, 1905

1. A RUBBER HEEL OF THE TYPE HAVING A FRONT BODY SECTION AND AROTATIVELY SHIFTABLE CIRCULAR REAR SECTION, AND IN WHICH BOTH SECTIONSARE MADE FORM CUSHIONING SHEET MATERIAL OF UNIFORM THICKNESS, SAID HEELCOMPRISING IN COMBINATION (A) A FRONT SECTION HAVING AT ITS REAR (A) ASUBSTANTIAL SEMI-CIRCULAR OPENING EXTENDING ENTIRELY THROUGH THE SECTIONAND FORMING TWO REARWARDLY TAPERED SIDE WINGS, AND (B) TWO ARMSEXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE REAR END PORTIONS OF SAID WINGS AND DISPOSEDRELATION DIAMETRICALLY OF SAID OPENING, (B) A CIRCULAR REAR SECTIONHAVING A RADIUS CORRESPONDING TO THAT OF SAID SEMI-CIRCULAR OPENING ANDALSO HAVING IN ITS EDGE DIAMETERICALLY OPPOSITE NOTCHES